adminBothwell Mahlengwe
IT’S true, miracles do happen. Almost everyone, myself included, had written off Dynamos for the title. I think even Saul Chaminuka had his victory message rehearsed over and over again in his head.
This year’s title had become ZPC Kariba’s to lose, and lose it, they did.
At least one man — I should presume — still felt that Dynamos could still do it.
I doubt it if the Dynamos executive still had hopes of snatching the title on the last day.
Even after the game, their language told a story.
That one man is Callisto Pasuwa who still believed that there was still 90 minutes to play for.
What a great coach, I should say.
He always delivers when it matters most.
Unfortunately, his style has created for him many enemies even in his “home”, Dynamos.
The other one is Enock “La” Jokomo who sent me a text message on Saturday morning written, “Believe me or not, Mickey Dread will beat Saul Chaminuka.”
ZPC took six points away from Dynamos this season and the first team to do so with Pasuwa as head coach, but now it counts for nothing.
Dynamos have won the league four times in a row for the second time since Independence.
There’s no denying that Dynamos are the greatest team in the country.
They have earned the bragging rights.
People might argue that DeMbare needed help from CAPS United.
I think the same people forget that the league is won over 30 games and the team with the best statistics wins.
In this year’s championship race, Dynamos had the most number of points and that made them champions. Nothing else did.
The league race is a marathon and not a once-off event.
ZPC thought they had it all bagged when they beat Dynamos. Then they became every anti-Dynamos supporter’s favourite.
They celebrated too early.
They crowned themselves champions before time.
Even the media had given them the title.
With almost everyone (myself included) didn’t realise that there was still one game to play for all the teams.
And I remember one invigilator at college who used to say this on the last day of exams, “if this is your last song, sing it well, for you might not sing another.”
ZPC sang horribly in their last song and this might be the closest they will ever get to the title again. I say that for two reasons.
One, they had the advantage of playing away from Kariba and that removed pressure of using non-Karibans in a “community” team.
Secondly, their crop of players is aging.
The bulk of their players is over the cliff and it will be difficult for them to repeat the same performance they gave this year. Naturally, they no longer have the energy.
Unfortunately, second best counts for nothing in football.
Football history only remembers the champions. In this case that is Dynamos.
What we cannot take away from ZPC is that they gave Dynamos a run for their money.
They made this season’s title race an interesting one.
They also showed us that the notion that most Zimbabwean coaches have about players around the age of 30 is wrong.
Limited Chikafa and Pride Tafirenyika reminded us that ‘age ain’t nothing but a number’.
That also reflected in the choice of our top 11 players for this season.
The average age is above 30 and that tells a big story. Most players are forced into early retirement when they still have a lot to offer.
I can only imagine what would have happened if ZPC had won the championship. I wonder what Saul Chaminuka’s winning statement would be.
I can also tell you that we were going to hear a lot from their talkative manager, Patson Ndabambi.
Of their players, I would have dreaded meeting Limited Chikafa.
This article would not be complete without the mention of CAPS United.
For the second year running they have shown the great spirit of professionalism.
When everyone is expecting them to lose to spite their fiercest rivals, they have gone to do their best.
Such has been a great act and it should be commended. The most amazing thing is that it has been happening when their club is facing serious financial challenges. As their head coach had promised, they came to the pitch to compete, and compete they did.
Some people might not know the ramifications of such acts but this I can tell you has given our football great credibility.
The same cannot be said of a section of their supporters.
They wanted their team to lose to an extent of being violent to their fellow supporters who were cheering on their players.
Such violent behaviour should be deplored and such individuals barred from our beautiful game.
We should also spare a thought for Kelvin Kaindu.
This is a man the Highlanders family rejected. Maybe they had their reasons.
But him being the good coach he is, he went on and displayed a masterclass by saving Triangle from relegation. Such is the beauty of football and life, ‘the cream will always rise to the top’.
Bothwell Mahlengwe is a banker and former Premiership footballer and can be contacted, for feedback, on the e-mail – [email protected]
Online Reporter